Garo Hills Toppers Speak!

Rank 2: Pori Panday (JN HS School, Phulbari)
The daughter of a shop keeper and housewife, Pori Panday, who stood second in the just declared SSLC results today felt very fortunate and proud.
She felt the main reason for her achievement was the support of her family, including her grandfather and her teachers for their support and mentoring. “Whenever I had any doubts they didn’t see the time but gave me their help. It was my family and teachers who guided me. I studied at least 13-14 hours without any worries and all because of them. Now my aim is to be a qualified and reputed doctor so that I can serve my country as well,” said Pori.
Rank 5 – Esther D Shira (Sherwood School)
Fifth ranked Esther said she was happy with the results and gave special thanks to her Maths and Science teacher as well as her parents who she said allowed her the freedom of studying without pressure. Esther plans to become a doctor in the future and is on her way to study in Vellamma in Tamil Nadu to pursue her dreams. “I did self study and took tuitions for Maths and Science. I tried to balance my schedule throughout my school life,” said Esther on her preparations for the SSLC. For future aspirants, she felt that discipline was paramount. While one may not be motivated on a dialy basis but discipline in studies was the way forward.
Rank 13: Aritra Paul (Sherwood School)
The son of a business owner from the town of Tura, Aritra is a die-hard cricket fan who still aspires to be a professional one, possibly even representing the country.
Talking about his results, he said he was grateful and happy and at a loss for words. Aritra thanked his teachers with a special mention to one ‘Sir Vishwanath) who he said was the reason he could stand strong. He also attributed his success to his parents and his friends. “At the beginning of the year I didn’t study much. However, in the later months, I became serious. It was the result of my half-yearly examination that made me realize I needed to study. Throughout the year, I only studied for about 3 hours a day, but the last 3 months were crucial. I studied almost 12 to 14 hours a day as it was very difficult for me to cover the entire syllabus
“Since childhood, my dream has been to play for the national cricket team. However, as time has passed, my dreams have started to fade. Now, I will be pursuing the science stream to study engineering,” he added.
Rank 12: Shreyan Sarkar (Sherwood School)
Shreyan expressed pride in the fact that he was able to make his parents feel good about his results.
He said that normally he studied only 6-7 hours but raked it up to 10 in the months prior to the exams. He added that it was the support of his parents, teachers and friends who guided him to achieve success. Besides studying, he liked to draw. On his future aspirations, Shreyan said he wants to become an architectural engineer and would pursue science to prepare for his JEE exams. For future aspirants, Sheryan felt success needed hard work and a never give up attitude.
Rank 17: Aganchi Sangma (Green Yard Sec. School)
Aganchi, who made her entire school proud by being the first rank holder from its stable, expressed excitement at her results.
Thanking her parents and teachers for their support, Aganchi stated she studied 10 hours every day in her bid to prepare for the SSLC exams. She did 4 hours in the morning and 6 hours later in the evening.
Aganchi said her aim was to become and engineer and would take up Science going forward. She thanked the Almighty for her success.
Rank 19: Rehan Mohammad (JN HS School, Phulbari)
In another story of inspiration from the JN HS School, the son of a butcher, Rehan Mohammad secured the 19th position in SSLC continuing a story that will make hearts glad.
Crediting his parents and teachers for his success, Rehan said he wants to become a civil servant and will pursue science in his immediate future.
Rehan added that he studied 14-15 hours a day prior to his exams in an attempt to keep abreast with his education.
Rank 13: Pranjal Mishra (Sherwood School)
For Pranjal, quality matters more than quantity as quality and focus was the reason for his success, instead of putting in long hours.
Pranjal felt good about his results while attributing his success to his parents, teachers, including his principal and his brother, who he said continued to motivate him to do well.
Pranjal will pursue Science in the town of Tura and look to prepare for his JEE exams.
He felt for those who aspired to do well, needed to ensure focus and ensure they remained motivated.
Rank 5: Mahir Islam (Mahendraganj HS School)
Mahir felt elated at the result he secured which has put his school in the limelight. The 5th rank holder said that he did not follow any particular routine in the run up to his exams but ensured he studied 8 hours consistently. His father had helped in setting up a time management system for his studies which he said helped.
For Mahir, Social Studies was the most challenging subject that he faced and he overcame the same by giving it more time.
Talking about being from a remote area, he said it felt good as he received a lot of support from everyone in Mahendraganj.
He added that it was his teachers, especially his father who helped him throughout. He took tuitions for Maths and Science in an effort to keep up.
Rank 6: Ian Dongkam M Marak (Casarina School)
Ian expressed happiness at the greatest happiness of his life while adding that he was never confident that he would crack the top 20.
He said he studied about 3-4 hours every day but ensured he always got his rest. His preparations were not ideal with his mother, the inspiration behind him not being in good health.
He felt thankful to his teachers and his mother for the effort they put in him which he said helped inspire him.
Ian said he planned to study Science in St Anthony’s Shillong but said he would not plan too far ahead. He loves to play games and watch TV at home.
For future aspirants, Ian said distraction through mobiles needed to be done away with. “I sleep early and get up early as it keeps me and my mind fresh and helps me stay focused with studies. Studying 2-3 hours and focusing will help and you definitely need plenty of sleep,” said Ian.
17th Rank: Trivayan Hajong (Sherwood School)
The son of a businessman and home maker, Trivayan felt his achievement was neat and he was happy it made his parents proud.
“To be honest I wasn’t really a student who kept studying from the beginning and studied regularly. I was more of a student who studied at the last moment but I still managed to get good marks regardless. I was more of a lazy student and always prepared at the last minute but whenever I used to study I used to fully focus and study,” he said.
Attributing his success to English, Math, principal and parents, Trivayan wants to become a neurosurgeon in the future.
Rank 16: Ankit Mondal (Sherwood School)
Ankit said his phone has been ringing since he got news of being a rank holder. His parents, teachers and everyone associated with his life congratulated him.
He felt his achievement was not an individual one as everyone helped. His parents didn’t pressure him to study and asked him to do it when he wanted to. He added that whenever he studied, he made sure it was worth it.
Ankit said that he wanted to prove to himself that he was capable of achieving and this came after he felt disappointed with his earlier results. His first thing that he did was to get away from his mobile phone. Ankit wants to be an astrophysist and wants to work at either ISRO or NASA some day. He will be continuing his studies in Kolkata, WB and will look to pursue Science.
Rank 16: Afchica Viesa D Marak (Aeroville School)
Expressing happiness at the results, Afchica attributed her success to the support of her teachers and parents and God.
She added that she wished to pursue Science in the medical field while adding that she studied 15-16 hours every day in the run up to the SSLC exams.
Rank 9: Abu Toufique Elahi Mondal (JN Higher Secondary School)
Toufique expressed elation at his results while crediting his family and teachers who he said contributed immensely to what he achieved.
Prior to his exams he put in more than 10 hours of effort every day and will now pursue a career in the UPSC through the Science stream.
Rank 6: Bathseba Ch Sangma (St Xavier’s School – Tura)
Bathseba felt that believing in yourself and God were the things to achieve success.
She said that she wanted to pursue a career in medicine and giving priority to her studies was extremely helpful in achieving the success she has now. She further gave credit to her teachers, parents and friends for the success she has achieved.
Rank 8: Trishita Koch (Embee Rosebud School – Tura)
Trishita said she drew inspiration from her seniors to do well in the SSLC exams this year. This drove her to strive for good results.
“I had a lot of support from my parents, teachers and the school principal. To secure marks, one needs to be hard working and in a positive environment. I gave 4-5 hours of dedication to studies every day but did so actively and with focus. I spent time on activities in school too to keep focus. After all, studies are not the only thing,” she said.
Trisha said she wants to be a civil servant in the future.